Demands of Jesus - Do Not be Anxious About the Necessities of Daily Life - 4

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the last session, Part 3, we started t understand some of the reasons why Jesus said to His not to be anxious about the necessities of daily life. We learned that we ought not to be anxious about food and clothing because they cannot provide the great things of life - the enjoyment of God, the pursuit of His gracious favor and the hope of eternity in His presence.

Let us now learn some more reasons...

YOU CANNOT ADD ONE CUBIT TO YOUR SPAN OF LIFE

The thirdd reason not to be anxious is that it's fruitless. "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?" (Matt. 6:27). The argument is very pragmatic: Anxiety doesn't get you anywhere. It doesn't do you any good. Whatever problem is causing you to feel anxious. you can be sure your anxiety will not reduce the problem. It will only make you miserable while you try to deal with it. So don't be anxious. It's useless.

CONSIDER THE LILIES OF THE FIELD

The fourth reason Jesus gives for not being anxious is based on the lilies. "And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all His glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today s alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matt. 6:28-30).

When you look at a lily, which has no will or instinct of its own to labor and spin, yet is adorned with beautiful form and color, Jesus says you should draw at least this one conclusion: God delights to adorn things. But if His delight finds expression in adorning grass that's here today and gone tomorrow, then surely His delight His delight in adornment will express itself in how He clothes His children!

But someone may protest, "God has not adorned me!" Or: "God has not adorned the poor Christians in many destitute situations around the world." That's true. Very few followers of Jesus are dressed like Solomon. But we couldn't do our work if we were. That's why Jesus spoke about John the Baptist: "Behold, those who are dressed n splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts" - but not John the Baptist! He had prophetic work to do and wore "a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey" (Luke 7:25; Matt. 3:4). "Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist" (Matt. 11:11). The adornment Jesus promised does not mean that we will have exorbitant clothes, but that we will have the clothes we need. Where have you ever seen a disciple of Jesus who dd not have the adornment he needed to do what God had called him to do?

But let's be careful. We must not measure the perfection of God's provision by some standard below His calling. He does not call us to live in palaces, but to take up our crosses and love people no matter the cost. And when we have finished carrying our crosses - on torn shoulders, if God wills - there will be kingly robes for us all. The promise to meet all our needs does not mean He will make us rich. It does not even mean He will keep us alive ("some of you they will put to death," Luke 21:16). It means He will give us all that we need to do the will of God. 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

These are some of the reasons why you should not be anxious about the food and clothing that you will be having tomorrow. Lets pray to our All Providing Father to grant us what we need in our daily life according to His immeasurable love. 

Please do keep this humble servant of Jesus in your prayers

"The Lord bless you and keep you; 

The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 

The Lord lift His countenance upon you, And give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26

Demands of Jesus - Do Not be Anxious About the Necessities of Daily Life - 2

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus

In the last session, we learned about Jesus' demand for us not to be anxious about our life, but to seek first the Kingdom of God - to make God the King in our life and in every affair. Let us now learn at least some of the reasons why Jesus says to His disciples not to be anxious.

LIFE IS MORE THAN FOOD, AND THE BODY IS MORE THAN CLOTHING

Matt. 6:25 says "Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on." Why? "Because life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing." What does this mean?

Why do we ted to get anxious about food and clothing? Because there are three things that we would lose if we didn't have food and clothing. First, we would lose some pleasures. After all, food tastes good. Second, we would lose some human praise and admiring glances if we didn't have nice clothes. Third, we would possibly lose our life if we had no food at all or weren't protected from the cold. So the reason we get anxious about food and clothing is because we don't want to lose physical pleasures or human praise or life.

To this fear Jesus responds: If you are gripped by anxiety over these things, you have lost sight of the greatness of life. Life was not given primarily for physical pleasures, but for something greater - the enjoyment of God (Luke 12:21). Life was not given primarily for the approval of man but for something greater - the approval of God (John 5:44). Life was not given primarily for the extension on this earth, but for something greater - eternal life with God in the age to come (John 3:16).

We ought not to be anxious about food and clothing because food and clothing cannot provide the great things of life - the enjoyment of God, the pursuit of His gracious favor, the hope of eternity in His presence. We get anxious about food and clothing to the same degree that we lose sight of the great purposes of a God-centered life.

LOOK AT THE BIRDS OF THE AIR

The second reason Jesus gives for not being anxious is in Matthew 6:26: "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds  them. Are you not of more value than they?" What we see when we look at the birds is not a lesson in laziness, They dig their worms and snatch their bugs and pad their nests with strings and leaves. But Jesus says it is God who feeds them. Birds don't anxiously hoard things as though God will not do the same tomorrow. They go about their work - and we should go about our work - as though, when the sun comes up tomorrow, God will still be God.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, with this I complete two of the eight reasons why we are not to be anxious about tomorrow. Let the grace of our Father, the love of Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be a guidance unto us all. Please uphold me, a sinful servant of Jesus in your prayers.

Your Brother in Christ

Jobin

Source: "What does Jesus Demands from the World" by John Piper

Demands of Jesus - Do Not Be Anxious About the Necessities of Daily Life - 1

Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  - MATT. 6:25

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  - MATT. 6:34

Dear Bothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus

Welcome once again to the series of Demands of Jesus. This time I will be concentrating on the demand of Jesus to not be anxious about the necessities of your daily life, for God Almighty provides all of these for us. The following has been taken from the book "What does Jesus Demand from the World" by John Piper

There have been kings who find it very effective to keep their subjects in constant anxiety. If the people are anxious about their life and worry about where their next meal is coming from, then perhaps they will be more than willing to do the king's bidding in order to get the food they need from the king's storehouse. Anxiety keeps them in their place. Fear makes the monarchy firm.

JESUS DOES NOT SECURE HIS KINGSHIP BY CULTIVATING ANXIETY

But one of the greatest things about Jesus is that He does not want His people to be anxious. He doe snot secure His kingship by cultivating anxiety. On the contrary, the aim of Jesus' kingship is to free us from anxiety. He doesn't need to keep us anxious in order to establish His power and superiority. They are untouchable and invincible. Instead, He exalts His power and superiority by working to take away anxiety.

When Jesus says, "Do not be anxious about tomorrow," He is demanding the kind of life that everybody would want - no anxiety. No fear of man or menacing circumstances. But how does Jesus expect this demand to come true when we see things all around us that make us anxious? Jesus gives us help in two extended treatments about anxiety and fear, one having to do with anxiety over the basics of life, like food, drink, clothing (Matt. 6:25-34), then the other having to do with anxiety over the hurt that men can do to us (Matt.10:24-31). In the first passage Jesus sustains our ability to press on joyfully when we can't see how all our needs will be met. In the second passage, which I deal with in the next series, Jesus motivates us to press on boldly in the cause of truth when people threaten us.

THE ANXIETIES OF DAILY LIFE

Everyone can plainly see Jesus' point of view in Matt.6:25-34. "Do not be anxious". 

Verse 25: "Do not be anxious about your life". 

Verse 31: "Do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?'"

Verse 34: "Do not be anxious about tomorrow."

But that is the negative way of stating the main point of this passage. There is a positive way found in verse 33-namely, instead of being anxious, "Seek first the kingdom of God." In other words, when you think about your life or your food or your clothes - or your spouse or your job or your mission - don't fret about them. Instead, make God the King in that affair and in that moment. That is, hand over the situation to His kingly power, and do His righteous will with the confidence that He will work for you and meet all your needs. If we believe in the kingship of our heavenly Father, we do not need to be anxious about anything. Virtually everything else in this series which will be following is support for Jesus' demand.

In the following sessions I will be stating at least eight reasons Jesus gives for His disciples not to be anxious.

Hope you all do have a wonderful and blessed week ahead. May the God Almighty bless you all and keep you in all your ways.

Please uphold this sinner in your prayers.

Your Brother in Christ Jesus

Jobin George

Demands of Jesus - Worship GOD - 4

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus

In the previous chapter, Worship God - 3, we learnt that the key new truth in worship is that worship happens through Jesus. He is the temple where we meet God. And since He Himself is God, our true worship will be a worship of Jesus too. Moving forward, let us now understand the saying "Worship in Spirit"

WORSHIP IN SPIRIT

"The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit" (John 4:23). Some interpreters take this to refer to God's Holy Spirit. We can also take it to refer to our spirit. But probably Jesus thought of both these interpretations when He said so. In John 3:6 Jesus connects God's Spirit and our spirit in a remarkable way. He says, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit". In other words, until the Holy Spirit quickens our spirit with the birth of new life, our spirit is so dead and unresponsive, it does not even qualify as spirit. Only that which is born of the Spirit is (a living) spirit. SO when Jesus says that true worshipers worship the Father "in spirit," He means that true worship comes only from spirits made alive and sensitive by the quickening of the Spirit of God.

This "spirit" is essential in worship. Otherwise worship is dead.Or to Jesus' phrase, it is "in vain". "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me" (Matt. 15:8-9). A heart (and spirit) alive and engaged with God is essential. Jesus is contrasting authentic worship in spirit and truth with external worship that focuses on Samaria and Jerusalem. What makes it authentic is not only that worshiping mind grasps the truth of Jesus, but also that the worshiping spirit experiences awakening and is moved by the truth that the mind knows. A person who has no affections for God awakened by the truth of Jesus is not worshiping "in spirit and truth". And a person with great affections built on false views of God is not worshiping "in spirit and truth". Jesus demands both: worship in spirit and in truth.

ALL OF LIFE IS WORSHIP

One implication of this vision of worship is that it applies to all of life as well as to services of corporate worship. The essence of worship lies in our mind's true vision of God and our spirit's authentic affections for God. This means that whenever we display the worth of God by words or actions that flow from a spirit that treasures Him as He really is, we are worshiping in spirit and in truth. We may be at work or at home or at church. It doesn't matter. What matters is that we see the glory of God in Jesus (truth), and we treasure Him above all else (spirit), and then we overflow by treating others with self-sacrificing love for their good. Few things display the beauty of God more. For followers of Jesus, therefore, all of life should be this kind of worship.

This is powerfully illustrated by the connection Jesus makes between worshiping God and serving God. When Satan tempted Jesus to worship him, Jesus responded, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve'" (Matt. 4:10). Serving was often attached to worshiping as an outward expression of religious ministry in the temple. But now the temple is Jesus. How is the 'service" of worship transformed?

YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MONEY

We get a surprising glimpse of what service to God means for Jesus in Matthew 6:24. He said, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." The surprising thing here is that serving God is compared to serving money. But how do you serve money?  Not by helping money or meeting money's needs. You serve money by treasuring it so much that you shape your whole life to benefit from what money can do for you.

So it is with God in the way Jesus sees the service of worship. We do not help God or meet God's needs ("The Son of Man came not to be served," Mark 10:45). Rather we serve God by treasuring Him so much that we shape our whole life so as to benefit from what He can do for us. And, unlike money, what God can do for us above all other treasures is be for us everything we have ever longed for.

THE INFINITE WORTH OF GOD IN JESUS

Therefore, all of life is service to God. That is, all of life is shaped by our passion to maximize our experience of the supreme worth of God in Jesus. So we end where we began. All the world worships something. From the most religious to the most secular, all people value something high enough to build their lives around it-even if unconsciously. Jesus demands that every person in the world build his life around the infinite worth of God in Jesus. Consider what you are worshiping. Then ask Jesus to open your eyes to the truth of God's supreme worth and to awaken your spirit to treasure Him above all.

============================

With this I come to the close of the one of Jesus' demands. Hope you all enjoyed reading it. The next demand of Jesus that I intend to bring before you all is the demand to Pray. I would most probably be writing that for the MGOCSM Diaspora newsletter "Alethia". Please uphold this intention in your prayers. Also pray for me a sinful servant of Jesus

Your Brother and Follower of Jesus

Jobin George

Ask, Seek and Knock

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

As we enter the last day of the 3 Day Lent, I would like to look into the Gospel reading for the day. The reading is from the Gospel of St. Luke 11:5-13. This particular portion comes right up after Jesus teaches His disciples the Lord's Prayer. This shows the importance of prayer and the amount of importance Jesus placed on it too. Throughout the four gospels we can see Jesus teaching us on why, how, for whom, and what we are to pray. And though we might think that the Son of God would be above the need to pray, He sets the example for us, as a perfect human being, by rising early in the morning to pray (Mark 1:35) and seeking times alone to pray (Matt. 14:23) and sometimes spending the whole night in prayer (Luke 6:12) and, in the end, preparing for His suffering by prayer (Luke 22:41-42).

While, I will not be dealing with the whole aspect on why, for whom and what to pray, which I am keeping aside for the next edition of the newsletter, Alethia - by MGOCSM Diaspora, India, I will try to give a short description on how Jesus taught us to pray.

In today's fast paced world, where every thing that we need gets to us in an instant and we can also restrict the time and place of the occurrence, we also expect our prayers to be answered by our Lord. We expect Him to come down to our timeline and bless us with the blessings that we ask for within the time frame we set up. How ridiculous it sounds that the creation is demanding for the blessings from the Creator who created both the time and space. And once the requirement is fulfilled, we place our God into a closet to be taken out again in another time of need. That's one picture. Another picture - What happens when we do not get the blessings? For a time, we complain to God to keep away the blessings, even though we prayed so much. And then we forget about it.

Jesus gives the picture of an earthly father. A father is always loving towards his children, even if the father is the hardest of criminals, he will always try to give better gifts to his child who has asked for something. He will try to give him the best fish, if the son has asked for a normal fish to satiate his hunger. So how much more does our Heavenly Father loves us? The One who created each and every cell in our body with utmost care. he has taken care to provide for us with all that we need, even before we ask of it.

But, He wants us to come closer to Him. And we can come closer to Him only by prayer. And how should we pray? Jesus says "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (St. Luke 11:9-10). He tells us to be persistent in our prayers to Him. He wants us to seek Him through our prayers and to keep on knocking at the door of God, because our God is a loving and compassionate God and He will hear our cries.

I would like to end on a warning too, given by Jesus on the same note in St. Matt. 6:5-14. Here Jesus warns us that being persistent in our prayers is not being repetitive in our prayers but to be thoughtful. He tells us not to heap up empty phrases, because that is the way the non-believers pray. He also tells us not to be loud about our prayers where everyone will see you, but to be silent in the closed quarters of our room and to pray that our Father might hear in Heaven and not the people surrounding us. 

I now close my thoughts here and more thoughts are being added as I end this small session here. I am praying that the Lord bless me to write more on the topic for the newsletter. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, may this 3 Day Lent bless you with all the blessings that you seek. Our Father is a merciful and loving one, keep on praying and asking, and He will provide it to you in His time.

Please keep me in your prayers.

Your Brother in Christ Jesus

Jobin George

True Fasting

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ Jesus
Hope you all are in good health and enjoying the fellowship of our Savior in this New Year.

As we enter the Nineveh Lent, or the Three Day Lent as it is commonly known, I would be deviating from the series that I am currently writing to write about the Orthodox teachings on True Fasting .

True Fasting 

Gluttony makes a man gloomy and fearful, but fasting makes him joyful and courageous.

And, as gluttony calls forth greater and greater gluttony, so fasting stimulates greater and greater endurance.

When a man realizes the grace that comes through fasting, he desires to fast more and more.

And the graces that come through fasting are countless....

~St. Nikolai of Zicha

What is fasting? If you Google it out, you would find this answer, "Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from all food, drink, or both, for a period of time." But is that only it? In the words of St. John Chryostom, "Fasting is a medicine", but in the hands of an inexperienced person, the same medicine which can be used to cure the ailments of the soul can become a poison and destroy the person who is taking the fast. When we pray, or make an invocation, or make any supplication, or when we go to the Embassy of our Lord with many tears, this Fast is an ally, and as an assistant is a Good Intercessor. 

Just like while taking a medicine, while taking a fast, the person has to know the appropriate time that it has to be taken, the appropriate amount, the condition of the body which is to observe the fast and many other things. If any one these is overlooked, it causes more harm than good. Just as we are concerned for the healing of the physical body and such accuracy is required for the same, then it is also necessary to examine and observe everything with every possible detail for the healing of the soul too.

So how do we examine and observe these details? St. John Chrysostom again gives a solid example as such:
When the winter is over and the summer is appearing, the sailor readies his ship for voyage by taking his ship to deeper waters; the soldier polishes his arms and rubs his horse to ready him for battle; and the farmer sharpens his sickle; and the wrestler strips his clothing and bares himself for the fight.
So too, when fast, like a kind of spiritual summer, makes its appearance, let us like soldiers ready our weapons, like the farmer sharpen our sickle, and like the sailor order our thoughts against the waves of extravagant desires; and as travelers let us set our journey towards heaven, and as wrestlers let us strip ourselves for the contest. For the believer is at once a farmer, and a sailor, and a soldier, a wrestler, and a traveler. 
St. Paul also says "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against power. Put on therefore the whole Armour of God" (Ephesians 6:12)

Fasting is the change of every past of our life, because the sacrifice of the fast is not the abstinence but the distancing from sins. Therefore, if anyone limits the fast to the abstinence of food, he is, in the words of St. John Chrysostom, "is the one who in reality abhors and ridicules the fast". So are you fasting?

Give me proof of it by your works. Which works?
If you see someone who is poor, show him mercy.
If you see an enemy, reconcile with him.
If you see a friend who is becoming successful, do not b jealous of him!
If you see a beautiful woman on the street, pass her by. 

In other words, not only should the mouth fast, but the eyes and the legs and the arms and all the other parts of the body should fast as well. Let the hands fast, remaining clean from stealing and greediness. Let the legs fast, avoiding roads which lead to sinful sights. Let the eyes fast by not fixing themselves on beautiful faces and by not observing the beauty of others. You should not eat debauchery with your eyes as well. Let your hearing also fast. The fast of hearing is not to accept bad talk against others and sly defamation of others.

Let the mouth fast from disgraceful and abusive words, because, what gain is there when, on the one hand we avoid eating chicken and fish and, on the other, we chew-up and consume our brothers? He who condemns and blasphemes is as if he has eaten brotherly meat, as if he has bitten into the flesh of his fellow man. It is because of this that Paul frightened us, saying: "If you chew up and consume one another be careful that you do not annihilate yourselves."

So what about those who cannot go without eating all day because of some medical issues?

Dear Brothers and Sisters remember that we have a Lord who is loving and who does not ask for anything beyond our power. He does not require us to abstain ourself from food, nor taht we keep our stomachs empty, but that we offer our entire selves to the dedication of spiritual things, having distanced ourselves from the worldly desires. We should regulate our lives with a sober mind and direct all our interest toward spiritual things. Therefore, you who eats and cannot fast, display richer almsgiving, pray more, have more intense desire to hear divine words. Become reconciled to your enemies, distance your soul from every resentment. If you are able to do this, then you have observed the true fast, which is what our Lord asks of us more than anything else. It is for this very reason He asks us to abstain from food, in order to place the flesh in subjection to the fulfillment of His commandments.

You should remember the bold and daring saying that "he who eats for the glory of the Lord eats and he who does not eat for the glory of the Lord does not eat and pleases God." For he who fasts pleases God because he has the strength to endure the fatigue of the fast and he that eats also pleases God because nothing of this sort can harm the salvation of his soul, as long as he does not want it to. Because our philanthropic God showed us so many ways by which we can, if we desire, take part in God's power that it is impossible to mention them all.

In the end, you should not be ashamed because you were not able to maintain the fast, because food does not bring on shame, but the act of wrongdoing. Sin is a great shame. If we commit it, not only should we feel ashamed but we should cover ourselves exactly the same way those who are wounded do. Even then we should not forsake ourselves but rush to confession and thanksgiving. We have such a Lord who asks nothing of us but to confess our sins, after the commitment of a sin which was due to our indifference, and to stop at that point and not to fall into the same one again. If we eat with moderation we should never be ashamed, because the Creator gave us such a body which cannot be supported in any other way except by receiving food. Let us only stop excessive food because that attributes a great deal to the health and well-being of the body.

Let us therefore in every way cast off every destructive madness so that we may gain the goods which have been promised to us in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Abridged from St. John Chrysostom homilies "On Fasting"

Demands of Jesus - Worship GOD - 3

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus

In the previous chapter, Worshiping GOD - 2, we learnt that Jesus introduced a new form of worship which does not place importance of the geographical and historical importance of the place or temples, but whether we worship God in accordance with the truth and whether our spirit is authentically awakened and moved by that truth.

What is worship in truth? What is the truth?

Now, lets learn on how to worship God in accordance with the truth...

ALL WORSHIP SHOULD BE THROUGH JESUS

AND OF JESUS

The key new truth is that worship now happens through Jesus. He is the temple where we meet God. This is true first because He poured out His blood "for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26:28) and "gave His life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45) and opened the way through His own crucified and risen body for us to be reconciled with God (John 3:16,36). There is no way that sinners could offer acceptable worship to God without having Jesus' blood as a  go-between with God.

It's true that worship now happens through Jesus because He Himself is God. He is not simply the mediator of worship between us and the Father; He is also the one to be worshiped. He made this claim directly and indirectly. He forgave sins, which only God can do (Mark 2:5-11). He accepted worship from His disciples (Matt. 14:33; 28:9). He claimed eternal preexistence with God: "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). He said He was one with the Father: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). So all should "honor the Son, just as they honor the Father" (John 5:23). Therefore, all worship "in truth" will be worship of Jesus and through Jesus. For "whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him" (John 5:23).

Dear Brothers & Sisters

I now stop here to let you ponder on the above words. We now learnt what is the truth that we should worship. In the next session, lets learn what is this worship in spirit.

"The Lord bless you and keep you; 

The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 

The Lord lift His countenance upon you, And give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26

Demands of Jesus - Worship GOD - 2

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ Jesus

Last week, we started learning about the teachings of Jesus from the incident with the Samaritan woman by the well. We learned that the time of the Messiah had come upon the world and there was to be a change, a radical change at that, in the people of the Lord worship.

So lets continue to learn what is this radical change....

"DESTROY THIS TEMPLE, AND IN THREE DAYS I WILL RAISE IT UP"

We all know this famous saying of Jesus from the Gospel of John 2:19. Jesus says these words to the priests and Pharisees when they asked Him for a sign from heaven to know that He was sent by God. The reason Jesus says it is because He intended to take the place of the temple Himself. In other words, the "place" where worship would happen - the "place" where people would meet God from now on  - would be Jesus, not the temple in Jerusalem.

He communicated the same in several ways. When Jesus said the above words, the people were astonished and said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you will you raise it up in three days?" But the Gospel writer explained, "He was speaking about the temple of his body" (John 2:21). In other words, Jesus meant that when He was raised from the dead, He would be the new "temple"-the new meeting place with God.

Jesus said something almost as startling when He was criticized for letting His disciples pick grain and eat it on the Sabbath. Jesus' response to this criticism was to point out that David, the king of Israel, had fed his band of men with the bread of God's house that was only designed for the priests to eat. He made the connection with Himself and His band of men by saying, "I tell you, something greater than the temple is here" (Matt. 12:6). In other words, "The Messiah, the son of David, is here, and he himself is going to take the place of the temple."

"NOT IN THIS MOUNTAIN OR IN JERUSALEM,

BUT IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH"

So when Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, "The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth," He meant that a whole new approach to God in worship had come with the coming of the Messiah himself. No longer would geography be relevant: "Neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father." Instead, what takes the place of external geographic concerns are internal spiritual concerns: "Those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The external places of Samaria and Jerusalem are replaced with the spiritual realities of "spirit and truth." What matters now is not where you worship but whether you worship God in accordance with the truth and whether your spirit is authentically awakened and moved by that truth.

Dear Brothers & Sisters

I now stop here to let you ponder on the above words. We learnt that true worship does not happen in any 'spiritual' place, but it happens in spirit and truth. In the next session, lets learn what is this worship in spirit.

"The Lord bless you and keep you; 

The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 

The Lord lift His countenance upon you, And give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26

St. Stephen, The First Martyr

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Christ Jesus

Today we remember the martyrdom of St. Stephen. He was the first of the believers of Jesus Christ to be martyred for His name. His life and death are a constant reminder to the followers of Jesus on how to live a true Christian life.

Life of St. Stephen

Stephen's name is derived from the Greek language Stephanos, meaning "crown". In the words of Asterias, St. Stephen was "the starting point of the martyrs, the instructore of suffering for Christ, the foundation of righteous confession, since Stephen was the first to shed his blood for the Gospel." 

Stephen was a Jew and is believed to have been the student of the renowned rabbinical tutor Gamaliel, who had been the mentor of the great St. Paul. We hear of Stephen in Acts of the Apostles 6:5 to 8:1. Stephen was among the seven chosen deacons of the original church of Jerusalem to help the apostles in the distribution of food and water among the widows from both the Hebrew speaking and the Greek speaking population. Stephen was the foremost among the seven because "he was a man full of faith and Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:5). Being so filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, he worked many miracles and spoke as a messenger from God. Apart from the service he did, he was well versed in the Scriptures and was a great orator and debater.

Since his acceptance of Jesus as his Savior, he was seen as a defector of the Jewish teachings. His staunch faith must have occasionally led him to take a stance which was opposing to that of the teachers of the law. His knowledge of the Jewish teachings were so true that the leaders of the Jewish faith would often find no words to contradict him. The inspired words that sprang forth from his mouth through the grace of God, so filled his heart and so heavenly that his face was illuminated with divine light. All who sat gazing at him, saw him thus clothed in shining glory like an Angel (Acts 6:15) 

"Which one of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute, and they killed the ones who prophesied the coming of the Just One, of whom now, too, you have become betrayers and murderers." (Acts 7:52)

While on trial, he experience a theophany in which he saw both God the Father and God the Son:

"Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (Acts 7:56)

In the end, he was taken to court on false charges and he was accused for blasphemy against God and Moses. He was stoned by an infuriated mob at the gates of Jerusalem, where the then Saul, and later known as Paul stood watch. This incident is then to be one of the life changing incidents of Saul's life.

Even at the point of death we see how close St. Stephen was close to Jesus that he knelt and prayed for those who stoned him to be forgiven.

"Lord. don't charge them with this sin!" (Acts 7:60)

Relics

His body was then left at the foothill of the city to be eaten by the dogs for two days. But on the second night,  Gamaliel— teacher of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Barnabas— along with his son, secretly came and took the body to his own estate, in Capharganda, to be buried.

Nicodemus, who died while weeping at this grave, was also buried there along with Gamaliel's godson Abibus and Gamaliel himself upon his repose.

After many years the memory of St. Stephen's burial place had left the minds of men, until 415 when Gamaliel appeared three times to Father Lucian, priest at Capharganda. He revealed to Fr. Lucian the place of his burial and everything about it. Fr. Lucian received the blessing of the Patriarch to exhume the saints from their grave where a strong, sweet fragrance filled the cave.

St. Stephen's relics were translated to Zion and honorably buried, and many of the sick were healed by his relics. The other three relics were placed inside a church atop the cave on a hill. Eventually, his relics were translated to Constantinople.

Today, you wil find his whole right arm at The Holy Trinity of St. Sergius Lavra, established by St. Sergius of Radonezh in 1345, at Sergiyev Posad, Russia

Prayers

Troparion (Tone 4) [Holy Tradition]

O First Martyr and Apostle Of Christ,Thou hadst fought the good fight.And didst expose the perversion of the persecutors,For when thou wast killed by stoning at the hands of wicked men,Thou didst receive a crown from the right hand on high,And didst cry out to God saying,"O Lord do not charge this sin against them!"Yesterday the Master came to us as a man,And today his servant departs from life.Yesterday the King was born as a man,And today His servant is stoned to death.For the sake of Christ Holy Stephen became the first martyr.

Kontakion (Tone 3) [Holy Tradition]

Yesterday the Master came to us as a man,

And today his servant departs from life.

Yesterday the King was born as a man,

And today His servant is stoned to death.

For the sake of Christ Holy Stephen became the first martyr.

Your Brother in Christ Jesus

Jobin George

Demands of Jesus - Worship GOD

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus

Wishing you all a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year. It's been 5 days into the New Year and as I go through the social networking sites all I find is many people expecting how their New Year to go compared to the blessings they received during the last year. For me, I would like to take you through the Demands of Jesus which He made during the 3 and half years of His ministry. From my perusal of The Bible and the book "What Jesus Demands from the World" by John Piper, I have found about 50 Demands of Jesus. But in the next few series, I will only be going through very few of the demands. Today, I will be going through the demand of "Worshiping God in Spirit & Truth"

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. -MATT. 6:24

Everyone in the world worships something. From the most religious to the most secular, all people value something high enough to build their lives around it. It may be God, or it may be money. But what makes it worship is the driving power of some cherished treasure that shapes our emotions and will and thought and behavior. Into this universal experience of worship Jesus demanded, "Worship (God) in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). In other words, bring your experience of worship into conformity with what is true about God, and let your spirit be authentically awakened and moved by that truth.

The Hour Is Coming and Is Now Here

Today, there are many Christian sects, claiming that their form of worship is the true worship. So we are often confused where do we go to worship. Is it this particular church famous for its miracles, or is it this other church where some famous saint has been buried, or is it this other church famous for its grandeur? When I think about these, I am reminded of the incident of Jesus with the Samaritan woman by the well near her hometown. During their conversation, she had challenged Him about the difference between places where Samaritans and Jews worship. She said, "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship" (John 4:20). Jesus responded by turning her attention away from geography to something astonishing that was happening in her very presence  He said, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father... The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth" (John 4:21, 23). This is a radical statement - to say that the hour is now here when worship in Jerusalem would cease!

The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Hm must worship in spirit and truth. - JOHN 4:23-24

Jesus made the breath taking claim to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." Jesus responded, "I who speak to you am he" (John 4:25). So when Jesus says that the time "is now here" when we will no longer worship in Jerusalem, He meant that the kingdom of the Messiah has dawned and there was going to be a radical break in the way people worship.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

In the next session, I would be writing on the meaning of Worship in Spirit and Truth. I hope to do justice to the topic. Please do keep me, a sinner in your prayers so that the Lord Almighty would guide me to write more about Him to you.

May the peace of our Father, the love of Jesus and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Your brother in Jesus

Jobin